I had been toying with the idea of writing a parody post about Sinn Féin’s 100th commemoration of the Easter Rising. It involved Lord Gerry Adams unveiling a statue of that great Irishman and courageous peacemaker, Ian Paisley, at Stormont. Sir Martin Mc Guinness wouldn’t have been able to attend because he was on a peace mission on behalf of the British government and President Chelsea Clinton in Baghdad. You get the idea.

It was the vague feeling that it might all come true that prevented me. Instead I was able to observe the complex and contradictory nature of Irish Republicanism at close hand in the Donegal village of Gleann Cholm Cille which the Saxons call Glencolmcille, one of the most gorgeous places in Ireland.

From the point of view of the local Sinn Féin cumann, or branch, the event was a great success. The cumann was only set up last year, rather missing some of the high points of Republicanism’s struggle with British imperialism, but better late than never. About 150-200 people gathered outside the church. Which for a small village is pretty good. Conveniently for everyone the march started about three minutes after mass ended.

The commemoration ceremony was as ritualised as the mass that had preceded. The Roll of Honour of fallen Republicans was read out and wreaths were laid. A local musician sang a song he’d composed about a local man who had died fighting the British. As this was done in front of an audience of local families and holidaying Republicans. The sense of an historical continuity of struggle was impressive.
Then the speeches started and it all went horribly wrong. The essence of the speeches was that two plus two equals six, pigs do fly and Bono is not an arsehole. The really disturbing thing was that all this garbage was received without a murmur of disapproval. I chose not to heckle because I don’t want to be the anonymous star of one of those documentaries about ancient bodies retrieved from bogs that will be broadcast 4000 years from now.

A well known former prisoner read out the Easter message from “the leadership of the Republican Movement”. The relationship between the branches of the “Republican Movement” is as mysterious as the relationship between the members of the Holy Trinity. However what they do agree on is that “recent events” are a good thing. For some reason they omitted to remind the audience that these events included grovelling for a coalition government with Ian Paisley and the abandonment of the entire programme that the ceremony was commemorating.

It was left to Councillor Bernice Swift to really plumb the depths. She was sporting the type of outfit normally only seen in this part of the world by the personnel manager of a chicken processing plant. I’m not really in a position to remark on anyone’s dress sense but this jarred with the tone of the event and the type of audience. It says a lot about how desperate Sinn Féin are to be seen as normal, safe, establishment politicians that every time they appear in public in front of their own supporters they get out the suits. The content of the speech was a dreadful sentimental confection of childhood reminiscences and explaining how abandoning every principle you ever had is the way to achieve your principles.

There has been an unimaginable depoliticisation of Republican supporters at every level. Some will now freely admit that they disagree strongly with the Adams leadership’s line and only voted for the party on a sectarian basis. This is new and very unwelcome. When challenged they reply “there is no alternative.”